


Small Talk

by KaijuLovingFreak



Category: COD zombies, Call of Duty
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, i was too focused on my other boys, im exhausted, sorry theres not enough of nik and rich, this took me two months
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-10
Updated: 2017-05-10
Packaged: 2018-10-30 05:21:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10869951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaijuLovingFreak/pseuds/KaijuLovingFreak
Summary: Tank has suffered a severe injury after saving Takeo's life and is out of commission for three days. After the third day, he decides to walk around, but catches Takeo going to the roof of the building. He decides to follow after him and the two end up having the most relaxing time since they've entered hell.





	Small Talk

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so this is my longest oneshot fic ever, and it took me 2 months to finish. It's also my first fanfic ever for my zombie babes, and I decided to give it a go. :,) But I'm glad I was able to finish this for everyone, because I crave more material of my favorite pairing. Well, give it a read and tell me what you guys think!

It was late into the afternoon, the sun began to set, and night was soon to come. All was much more quiet than earlier in the day. The building was once a theater, that held many movies and plays, but was soon used for something much more sinister. All that was gone, but the remains of what once was remained in its place. The days were filled with screams of the undead, gunshots constantly blaring throughout the raids from the dead, blood staining almost every inch of the area, the bodies of the dead were scattered along the floor, and the building itself was decaying and old. For many, it was a horror show, but for the four soldiers trapped here, it was just another day in hell.  
Tank walked along in the halls that were filled with corpses, occasionally also containing the bodies of the hellhounds that came with them. Sometimes, he’d come across a room that still had the stench of the new crawler creatures that appeared as well. Their bodies would explode into a foul stink cloud, that even the smell of the rotting corpses they’ve gotten so used to couldn’t prepare them for. Tank avoided these rooms as best as he possibly could until the stench was gone. Tank found himself and his allies trapped here for 2 days now, and already he was getting tired of the theater, but with their teleporter broken and no way out of the area without running into more of the undead controlled by Samantha, which seemed to be placed there just to keep them in one place, they were stuck there until Richtofen had fixed the teleporter.  
In this part of the day, when all the hordes of the undead were gone, or all killed, the four men would take the corpses outside in the alley next to the building and burn them. After clean up, they board up the windows of the buildings for the hordes in the next day. Even if it didn’t stop them from coming in, it did help give them time to grab new weapons or get ammo, since they always seem to have little to no ammo by the end of the day. Their only source to get more was the mystery box. The rest of the night was spent however they decided to spend it.  
Tank had wandered off on his own, pulling bodies out to the alleyway on his own. He occasionally saw Nikolai dragging a body outside as well, or helping Richtofen pull a body, but he still stayed by himself. What he began to notice later was that even when he saw those two, he didn’t see Takeo. It was common for the samurai to be on his own, as he didn’t enjoy the company of the others. He hated Nikolai, he didn’t trust Richtofen, and Tank? That was something Tank didn’t get. Apparently, he thought he was annoying, but Tank couldn’t see it. However, it was strange to him how he didn’t even see him helping out. When he passed the others, he would occasionally ask about his whereabouts, but even they didn’t seem to know where he was.  
A few hours later, Tank’s back began to cramp up from dragging all the bodies, but he and the others still had a few more to go, and he had yet to see Takeo. The others had no better luck with finding out where he was. Tank debated ditching his current job to go looking for him, but just as he leaned down once again to drag yet another corpse, a voice made him jump from surprise.  
“What are you doing on your own, American?”  
Tank dropped the arms he grabbed and turned to the source of the voice. Standing there at the doorway was Takeo. He stared at Tank, his eyes piercing him, as if to see through him. He stood there in a very proud manner, his face blank from any emotion. Although many would feel intimidated by the seemingly cold man, Tank strangely found comfort from him. But then again, it could be from the fact that he just had a crush on the man.  
The American let out a sigh, before looking at the samurai. “Geez, Tak, don’t sneak up on me like that! You nearly gave me a heart attack.”  
Takeo crossed his arms. “You’ll be fine, I didn’t scare you that bad. You’ve been through worst. Now, what are you doing on your own?”  
Tank raised a brow at him, his question more direct and stern. He gave a huff, as he spoke up again. “Cleaning up the freakbags, what else? Besides, you don’t really have a place to judge. Where have you been this entire time?”  
“I was patrolling around the perimeter. You can never be too careful, those demons can still be around,” Takeo replied, walking to the corpse Tank was currently about to drag out, leaning down to grab one arm. Tank leaned down as well to grab the other arm.  
The two of them dragged the body out together and continued to help each other clean the rest of the rooms. When boarding up windows, the two also helped each other out, Tank trying to make small talk the entire time with Takeo, but he wasn’t interested in speaking with him. By the time they were done, Takeo disappeared again during their downtime, only appearing again when food was ready, and once again leaving them alone for the rest of the night. When they crew awoke the next morning, Takeo was there with them, as if he had been there the whole time.

—–

“DIE, MEAT SACKS!!!” Tank yelled, as he unloaded his raygun on the new horde of zombies. He was currently trapped at the stairways in the lobby. He could hear Nikolai currently on the stage, keeping the undead at bay, alongside Richtofen. He reloaded as fast as he could, trying to keep from being killed. He unloaded his ray gun again, killing more and more zombies. This wasn’t good, he was low on ammo, his other guns had no ammo, and his knife wouldn’t do him any good with such large numbers of zombies coming at him. He couldn’t get any help from anyone, he was cornered in a room full of the undead, how can it get any worse?  
“Fetch me their souls!”  
He just had to ask, didn’t he?  
Soon, the hellhounds began to come in, running towards the marine. Tank managed to dodge a hellhound that leaped to him, and ran to wherever he could to escape their jaws and the remaining zombies. But there was nowhere to run, every escape route was closed off.  
With no other choice, Tank began to unload the remains of his ammo into as many zombies and hellhounds as possible. Once he had nothing else, he took out his knife and began to stab into the undead, slicing and thrusting the knife into the heads of anything he could get his hands on. He was actually doing well, with the number of zombies decreasing, no more coming around to reinforce them. But he wasn’t fast enough to catch the hellhound that pounced at him.  
He was pushed to the ground, dropping his knife. He was barely able to keep the dog from killing him, holding it up as it snapped it’s jaws at him, but it thrashed about, using its weight to push down on the marine and to snap at his face or neck.  
This wasn’t good, this wasn’t good at all! More zombies were approaching fast, and he couldn’t reach the knife without losing his grip on the dog. He swore he was going to actually die this time.  
Suddenly, there was a sound of slashing and blood hitting the ground, along with large thumps. Tank couldn’t entirely focus on the new sounds due to the fact the dog was still snapping at him. But then, the dog let out a whine of pain, before going limp. Something tore the dog off of him, and he was met with a hand reaching for him. He looked up at his savior, and was met with the familiar face of Takeo.  
“Get up, now!”  
Tank snapped out of it and grabbed his hand, pulling himself up. After getting back on his feet, Takeo gave him his own pistol, before turning back at the horde approaching them. Even if a pistol wasn’t much, it was better than having nothing at all, and with Takeo’s skillful swordsmanship, he should be fine enough to make it to the box.  
With the continuing numbers of zombies coming in, Takeo wasted no time slashing into the undead, making sure to kill every single one in his way. Tank began to fire into the horde, killing all the zombies that approached him. He couldn’t help but look back at Takeo, the samurai slashing into them with swift movements, a seemingly perfect form every time. He admitted, he admired the warrior very much.  
But now was not the time for admiration, right now, he needed to fight for his life. The two fought side by side by side, getting every dead thing that walked. When Tank ran out of ammo, Takeo made sure to give him the ammo he had left for him, as he continued to slash his way into the horde.  
It wasn’t long until the horde dwindled, and the zombies and hellhounds were no more. It seemed to be a close call, and it was over for now. What a relief for Tank, because he was using his knife for the last few dozen of zombies.  
Takeo sheathed his sword, looking over the bodies of all the undead. Tank walked to him, as he looked around the room, letting out a whistle. “Damn, Tak, you ripped through the freakbags without cracking a sweat!”  
“I would if I didn’t have to watch out for you. Again, why were you on your own?”  
“I got separated.” Tank shrugged it off. Obviously, Takeo didn’t like the fact that the man nearly died once again and tried to wave it off as small thing, especially since he risked his own life to save him.  
“If I wasn’t here, you’d be dead right now.”  
“And I thank you for that.”  
“You get into these situations too many times, American. You need to work on trying to stay out of trouble.”  
“Tak, I’m fine! Jeez, why you getting so worked up about this?”  
“Because you seem to not care at all, no matter how many times it’s happened. You’re too reckless, and you seem to never learn from your ations.”  
“You’re saying that like I wanted to get my face torn off by those mangy mutts!”  
“You might as well since we’re always saving you!”  
“So? I save you guys too!”  
“Not nearly as much as us saving you! The only one that’s as reckless as you is that damn Russian, but at least he manages to get himself out of his own messes!”  
Tank glared at the samurai, getting irritated more and more as the conversation went on. Wasn’t his fault the zombies cut him off from the rest of the group. Besides, he does just fine on his own, thank you very much!  
“You act like a child, Dempsey. I’m not your mother.”  
“You sure do act like it, though. First you come to save me, now you’re scolding me like I don’t know how to fight! Besides, who are you to tell me not to go off on my own? Don’t you always wander off on your own?”  
“Yes, but I actually know what I’m doing, and I don’t get cornered!”  
“You get cornered!”  
“Only when I’m saving you and the others! I’m better on my own, and if it weren’t for you three, I’d never would have issues in the first place!”  
This wasn’t the first time they’ve had an argument like this. Funny thing is, Tank seemed to be the only one to get a pep talk from the samurai. He doesn’t bother with lecturing the other two, he just gives them a dirty look, mutters something under his breath in Japanese, and leaves. Not Tank. He gets Takeo telling him everything wrong with what he did that day, and telling him how he needed to improve. Why him? Why just him?  
The argument didn’t seem to be going anywhere, as Tank and Takeo continued to argue. Just as Tank decided to just walk away from the conversation, he saw a large black figure stalking behind them. To his horror, it was a hellhound, and its sights were set on the samurai.  
Takeo hadn’t caught on, but he did notice that Tank was no longer listening to him. “Dempsey? Dempsey, what’s with you?”  
Tank opened his mouth to warn him, but the hellhound was already in motion, and ran straight to the two of them. There was no time to warn him.  
“Tak, look out!” Tank screamed, as he shoved Takeo to the side as hard as he could, making him fall to the ground as the hound pounced. Tank tried to grab his knife, but once the dog made contact with him, the force and weight of the dog made him fall backwards, dropping the knife by Takeo.  
As Tank landed on the ground, he tried to pick himself up, but was stopped by the weight of the hellhound, as it sank it’s fangs into his shoulder. He let out a scream of pain, as he began to try to pry it off of him, the dog beginning to maul him.  
Takeo looked over at Tank the moment he heard his scream. He unsheathed his sword, and began get up. Suddenly, the sound of another growl of a hellhound caught his attention. He turned around just in time to see the dog pounce at him. He managed to dodge it, but the dog made contact with his arm, making him drop his sword. Takeo went to pick it up, but the hellhound was already over the weapon, growling at him as it kept his weapon away from him.  
Takeo backed up a bit, before looking back on Tank. He desperately tried to get the hound off, as it continued to violently shake him about. He called out for Takeo, begging for help as the dog drove its fangs deeper and deeper into him. Takeo had kept his eyes off the other dog for too long, as it made a move to pounce, pinning the samurai under it. Takeo was lucky enough to use his hands on the hound’s neck to keep it from biting him, but it was nearly impossible to get it off. The hound began to snap at his face, Takeo struggling to keep it off, as he was forced to listen to the pained cries of the marine.  
Takeo looked around the room, hoping to see if anyone was coming, but judging by the sounds of distant gunshots in the other rooms, that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon as they were busy with something else. Tank didn’t have much time left, and Takeo couldn’t hold out much longer. Suddenly, something shiny caught his eye. It was the knife Tank dropped, and it was so close to him. Takeo shifted his arms, so now the weight of the dog was on one arm, letting him use the free one to grab for the knife. He was so close, but it was barely out of his fingertips. The dog’s moth seemed to inch closer to his face, as his arm began to grow weaker. He desperately stretched out his arm, hoping and praying that he could grab the knife. The snout got closer and closer to him, as he continued to reach the knife, and the cries of Tank began to get quieter, the dog over him still tearing him apart.  
Finally, just as it seemed he was doomed to die at the jaws of the dog, Takeo managed to get his finger to drag the knife close enough for him to grab it. Without hesitation, he drove the knife into the hellhound’s head, the dog letting out a whimper of pain. Takeo rolled the dog over so now he was over it, driving the knife into the dog repeatedly to make sure it was dead. Once it went limp, he took a moment to catch his breath, but not a second more before getting up and running to Tank.  
The dog was still tearing at his shoulder when he got to him. Takeo grabbed the scruff of the neck and stabbed into the dog’s neck. It let go of Tank, as Takeo pulled it up and continued to stab into its neck and head, making sure the damn thing was dead.  
When he was sure it wasn’t going to get back up, Takeo tossed the body aside, taking a good look around the room to make sure nothing else was there, then leaned down beside Tank.  
“Dempsey? Dempsey, can you hear me?”  
“Tak…?” Tank voice sounded hoarse from the screaming session he just had from all that pain, and he looked exhausted. He was bleeding heavily, and Takeo knew he had to stop it, and to get him patched up immediately.  
“Good, you’re still alive. Look, just try and stay awake, ok?” Takeo told him, as he tried to find something to stop the bleeding from the gaping wounds in his shoulder. He had to take off his how jacket to wrap around him until Richtofen showed up. Even if all three tried to avoid the doctor at all times when it came to medical issues, it didn’t change the fact that he was the only one who could save Tank right now. But just because he could didn’t mean he would.  
“Tak, be honest, does it look as bad as it feels?”  
“If it feels like you’re dying then yes, it does. Look, just shut up until the Doctor gets here. Try to relax.”  
The sounds of running was soon heard approaching the room, and Takeo was ready to run to his sword if it was more hellspawns ready to attack them. Luckily, it was only Nikolai and Richtofen running over after hearing Tank’s screams go silent. Once the two caught sight of Tank on the floor with a pool of blood under him, they ran straight towards them, leaning down besides them.  
“Dempsey! What happened to you? Did one of those hellpigs get to you?”  
“One of those demon dogs pounced us when we thought the horde was gone. He saved me, but they tore their teeth into him.”  
“Oh, this is a messy accident.” Richtofen lifted the jacket up a little to look at the damage. He seemed more indifferent about if Tank would survive or not.  
“Can’t you do something, Richtofen?”  
“I don’t know, I don’t exactly have the necessary tools to keep him alive. Perhaps we should just say our goodbyes and-”  
“Richtofen!” Takeo barked, glaring at the doctor for his lack of help.  
Richtofen raised his hands up in defence. “Alright, I’ll try to keep him alive. But if he dies, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”  
“He won’t die.” Takeo looked back down at Tank, the blood loss starting to get to him. He looked like he was starting to daze out, and his vision began to blur. His eyes slowly began to close, the others looking down in shock.  
“Dempsey? Dempsey, stay awake! Dempsey? Dempsey!”  
The last thing he heard was Takeo calling out his name, begging him to stay awake before darkness took over.

—–

The first thing Tank saw when he came to was the decaying ceiling of the building. Tank felt groggy, like he had slept for a million years.  
He began to sit up, wincing when his shoulder stung a little when he tried to use it to help him up. He was sitting up fulling now, his hand on his shoulder as he moved it, the feeling of soreness covering a good chunk of his shoulder.  
He noticed he was in a makeshift bed the group made when they first arrived here, and that he was shirtless. Bandages covered up the shoulder that was sore.  
He remembered suddenly what had happened before he blanked out, recalling the hellhound attack. He used his hands to rub the tiredness out of his eyes, before the sounds of footsteps caught his attention. They stopped outside the door, before the sound of something large being moved out of the way was heard. After moments of movements, the door opened to reveal Richtofen in the doorway.  
“Ah, Dempsey! It seems like you’re still alive. What a shame, I was hoping to get a liver out of you if you died.”  
The comment made the marine immediately look down at his body to look for some stitched wound where is liver was. Richtofen only laughed at him.  
“Oh, quit being a worried sport, I didn’t do anything to you. Not like Takeo and Nikolai would let me.” He said, patting his head mockingly.  
“Shut it, Kraut.” Tank swatted the hand away, before deciding to ask him about what had happen to him. “What happened after I blanked out, anyways?”  
“Oh nothing really. We just moved you here and stitched you up. Of course, it was a little hard to do since Takeo wouldn’t leave me be. He said if I did anything ‘suspicious’ he’d kill me. Not like we already have someone else scarier than him on my ass.”  
Tank looked at him a bit, registering what he said. He didn’t think Takeo would worry about him, but then again, he did save his life.  
“Where is he anyways. And Nikolai too?”  
“Downstair killing this place up. We just got through killing more of the undead while you were safely sleeping away the day.”  
“Another horde of freakbags on the same day? Damn, I missed some more fun today.”  
“Same day? Oh you poor, dumb fool. No Dempsey, it’s not the same day. You’ve been out for three days.”  
“WHAT!?”

—–

Three days. Three days he’s been out cold and he missed everything! It pissed him off so much, he even blamed Richtofen for it. He purposely left him to sleep that long, he could’ve woken him up, he would’ve been able to help them, but no, the doc left him to sleep in a room for three days and locked him in the room by putting a fucking bookcase in front of the door, he just knew it had to be true!  
He left the room with his missing clothes in a fit, with Richtofen trying to get him to go back to bed. He tried to tell him how he’d just get in the way and couldn’t help out in his condition, and he should rest. Tank’s only response was a middle finger and a ‘go fuck yourself’.  
He was having trouble putting on his shirt and jacket has he walked down the stairs, his shoulder getting in the way. He could clearly see the holes still in them from the hellhound, and grumbled from the fact he couldn’t get a fresh change of clothes. He made done them, he could hear Nikolai and Takeo working in the theater room. He decided to see what was up with them and to see if Takeo was alright after having to almost die on him after saving his ass.  
The first thing he saw was Takeo dragging a corpse across the stage, with Nikolai sitting not too far drinking a bottle of vodka. Takeo looked up from his work to glare at the soviet like always.  
“Put the bottle down and help me, Russian pig!”  
“Nikolai puts his bottle down for no one. I’ll join when I’m done with vodka!”  
“You’re useless!”  
“No need to be in pissy mood, Takeo! Just because you’re upset doesn’t mean I have to be! When Dempsey wakes up and comes down here, Nikolai will put bottle down.”  
Just as he said that, Tank had walked down to the stage. “Hey, what are you guys up to?”  
The two nearly jumped at the sound of his voice, looking down below the stage, seeing Tank stand there with a grin, the two looking back to make sure both were seeing the same thing. Nikolai put his bottle down and got up. “Well, I suppose Nikolai can save the rest for later.”  
Tank just chuckled, and decided to try and lift himself up on the stage, which was a terrible idea considering shoulder made it difficult to pull his weight up. Nikolai approach the edge of the stage and lifted Tank up.  
“Don’t worry, comrade. Nikolai’s got you.”  
He placed Tank up on the stage, Takeo walking over to him. Tank noticed a large blood stain on his cloths, and he new all too well it wasn’t zombie blood. It was his, and Takeo was forced to wear it with the knowledge that his blood covered a large portion of his clothes. Tank shook his head to get the thought out and tried to remain optimistic.  
“Thanks Nikolai, this shoulder is annoying the hell out of me.”  
“You shouldn’t be putting pressure on it, Dempsey.”  
“Takeo’s right, you’ll make it worst.”  
“Oh come on guys, I’m alright. Just give it little bit, I’ll be good as new. Now, where do we start with getting rid of the trash?”  
“We’ll handle that, get rested, Tank.”  
“Oh, just like how you were doing it a minute ago?”  
Nikolai waved that off, while Takeo rolled his eyes.  
“Come on, I’m not useless guys, I can do this.”  
“Looks like he doesn’t like being put on the bench.”  
The three turned around to see Richtofen walking in, his arms behind his back. Tank just glared at him.  
“Just accept that you’re not useful right now and just go do something else.”  
“Listen here, I;m as useful as anyone here! I’ll show you, you little-”  
“Tank, please.”  
Someone had placed their hand on his shoulder, making him turn to see Takeo. Takeo didn’t seem to be strict or demanding this time. No, it was more like he was pleading him.  
“But-”  
“No buts. Just go get rested, eat something, and don’t stress yourself. Walk around if you want, just please, don’t get yourself worked up.”  
This was the nicest Takeo ever was to anyone. Tank stared at him for a moment, the others also watching with how calm Takeo was with him, as they waited for something to happen.  
Finally, Tank let out a sigh, and walked away, leaving the stage and letting the others work. The others watched him go, before looking back at Takeo, wondering how he got him to listen. Takeo said nothing, before turning back to the zombie he was previously dragging out and continued on.  
“Let’s get this done, already.”  
Richtofen and Nikolai looked at each other, before deciding to follow Takeo’s suggestion.

—–

It was late at night, Tank was laying on his back as he stared at the ceiling. He didn’t feel tired enough to sleep, and he certainly didn’t just want to lay around. He had a feeling he would be doing that more his week until he was good enough to fight again. He sat up, groaning as he did so, and just sighed. Perhaps walking around would be good for him, not like he would have to fight anyone while he walked about.  
He left his room and decided to head downstairs. He headed down to the stage area, deciding maybe going backstage would be fun, to mess with the props and clothes that were left there to rot.  
As he entered the doorway, he noticed a figure was walking on the stage. He crouched behind the chairs, as he peeked to see what it was. Was it a zombie? Was it someone new? Was it dangerous? Faintly, he could see the figure head out to the exit of the stage, making Tank follow after it.  
Tank was lucky he was able to keep a pistol, and held it close to him as he followed after the figure.  
The figure lead him outside, but Tank stayed hidden behind a wall as the figure began to move something around. When Tank heard nothing, he decided to peek over, and saw a ladder where the figure was once was.  
So the thing was on the roof, huh? Well, Tank wasn’t going to lose them just yet! He went to the ladder and climbed after the figure. It was a little hard for him, his shoulder making everything harder for him, which forced him to go slow.  
Once he finally made it up to the roof, he took out his pistol and looked around to see where the thing was. Finally, he caught sight of the shadow figure sitting down, looking up at the night sky. Tank approached them cautiously, keeping quiet as he approached, ready to kill if he needed to. Once he was close enough, he pointed the gun to the head and was just about to speak, when he finally noticed who it was. The hat, the clothes, the sword. It was Takeo.  
Tank lowered his gun, confused to why Takeo was up there.  
“Takeo?”  
Takeo’s head turned around at the sound of Tank’s voice, looking up at him in surprise.  
“Dempsey? What are you doing up here?”  
“I, uh, caught you coming up here and followed. I didn’t even know it was you, I just, uh, I thought… Sorry to interrupt you.”  
Tank put away his gun, as Takeo looked back at the sky. Tank decided it was a little awkward to just dip out right as he got here, so he decided to sit next to him.  
“So… Is this where you go to?”  
“Yes.”  
“Since when?”  
“Since I found it on the first day we got here.”  
Tank raised a brow. Really? Is that why he always disappears?  
“Really? What do you even do up here?”  
“I think.”  
“Just think? You can do that when you’re laying in bed. What other reason are you here?”  
Takeo let out a huff, looking at Tank with a small glare, before turning back at the sky once again.  
“Stargazing.”  
“Stargazing?”  
“You heard me. I like to stargaze up here. The sky is clear, it’s quiet, and peaceful. It’s the only time where I don’t have to worry about anything that’s going on. I like it up here.”  
Tank was looking at Takeo as he spoke up, before he too decided to look up at the sky. It was beautiful, and it really was a peaceful moment. He smiled a bit, leaning back a bit to relax himself.  
They had a bit of a silent moment, before Tank began to talk again.  
“You know, this kinda reminds me of when I was younger.”  
“Really? How so?”  
“Well, back when me and my brother were kids, we had this treehouse. Me and brother always played around it, doing everything together in it. It was our favorite place of all time. Sometimes, we’d even sleep in there. Mom hated it when we did that.” He chuckled a bit.  
It one of the few memories he actually remembered, and he cherished them. It was nice to actually know there was something, anything waiting for him when he could finally go home.  
“On nights we stayed at the treehouse, me and my brother would look up at the night sky and try to connect the stars. You know, the big dipper, orion’s belt, stuff like that. We’d even play games to see who could find certain stars the fastest. I haven’t really been able to do that in years, you know? Too busy with work, the last two wars, the entire zombie thing we’ve got going on. It’s been forever since I could be a kid.”  
Takeo watched him, seeing how he fondly remembered his childhood. Tank’s face dropped when he began to finish talking. Takeo looked down, trying to think of something to say. After a few moments of silence, he finally spoke up.  
“I don’t remember much before now, but I remember being a child and going into my backyard during a meteor shower.”  
Tank snapped his attention back at him when he mentioned the meteor shower.  
“I remember being so memorized by them. It was beautiful, and I adored it. I was never lucky enough to catch another one like that again.”  
“Really? I wish I could’ve seen one before. I’ve never got to see one myself.”  
“That’s a shame. You’d like it.”  
The two continued to talk like this for a while. No talk about zombies, war, their countries, their superiors, just simple talk about what they remembered from their childhoods and families.  
Tank talked about growing up in a middle class home, his brother being his best friend, and all the dumb things the two got into, even as they grew up. His freedom in boyhood was much different from Takeo’s.  
Takeo came from a wealthy family, and was trained to be a warrior the second he was of age. He was an only child, so it was up to him to bring honor and all that to his family. He was always reserved and respectful, and not once had gotten in trouble.  
Tank never above or below where he was in the social class.  
Takeo climbed and climbed, and became the right hand man of the Emperor.  
Both served in the first war, both survived to be here now.  
And now both we stuck in a hell hole full of the undead that wanted to tear them to pieces. What a life they had.  
The next question that Takeo asked had caught Tank off guard.  
“Is there anyone waiting for you when you get back?”  
He hadn’t really thought about it. He’d been so caught up in all this crap, he’d forgotten the fact he still had a family to go back to at the end of the day.  
“Well, I know mom’s still waiting for me to come back, and hell, I don’t know where my father is. So as far as I know, only one person awaits for me. Although, I keep getting the feeling that there’s another person, but I can’t think of anyone else.”  
“You’re brother?”  
Tank stayed silent, as he looked down at the ground. The grim look on his face told Takeo that whatever was on his mind wasn’t a good one.  
“My brother has been dead for years. Back in the first war.”  
He stared at the ground, the grim look seemingly growing. Then, he let out a laugh.  
“Funny, really. He died on a mission doing what I did; Saving an ally’s life. He managed to get someone from his squad to out of the way of some gunfire, but he ended getting himself shot. I manage to keep you from getting mauled by that damn dog but it nearly rips my arm off. They had all this medical equipment, they could save a guy who lost his arm and leg, yet they couldn’t save my brother. Me? I’m stuck in an abandoned theater with three other people with zombies coming after us day after day, no end in sight, and we don’t even have enough food for us, let alone any good medical equipment, yet here I am, still kicking it and forced to live another day in this god forsaken life. Life is so cruel, making me live a terrible life full of death at every corner, while people like my brother who had so much to live for, who had so much to do, who had a future to go back to have to live short lives. Even if this world is shit and does nothing for me, I’m still grateful to be alive, and I don’t know why. I don’t know what the world has in stored for me, or if I’ll even be able to enjoy the end without some type of suffering, but I guess that’s because I’m more afraid of death than anything.”  
The two stayed silent, Takeo processing the fact Tank just talked about something that wasn’t a joke or some fond personal memory. No, it was a reflection on life, his life, and it wasn’t something he expected. It was quiet for another few moments before Tank spoke up again.  
“I’m sorry, I ruined the mood.”  
“No, it’s alright. I understand, Tank.”  
Tank. That’s the second time he used his nickname. He only ever used his last name or just called him ‘American’, but never Tank until today. Tank could only guess that he finally warmed up to him.  
“I’m grateful you’re alive too.”  
“Huh?”  
“I’m glad you’re alive too.”  
“Why?”  
What compelled Tank to ask that? Why was the first thing he says to someone being happy he’s still around is ‘Why?’ He could only hope Takeo wouldn’t take offence to that.  
“Well, you’re the only one here that I can stand.”  
Well that’s not exactly what he expected, but it seemed fair.  
“Even though you’re rude and a loud mouth.”  
Now that was just rude.  
“But you have so much more to offer than what the others can dream of.”  
Now we’re back to nice.  
“You think so?”  
“Tank, you’re the only one to be able to head into a horde headstrong. It’s brave, but foolish. And despite all the horrors of hell, you still manage to find happiness without sadistic methods or alcohol. You don’t think twice about saving others, you just do it, even if it is someone like Richtofen. Not even I do that. I almost left you to die because I didn’t think I could get to you in the first place. Even with all that, you still fight like you have something to prove, like if you don’t do something big, it’s not enough. You don’t need to do all that, Tank. Just stay alive, that would be enough.”  
Now he just took Tank’s breath away. He didn’t think he would think of him in a positive light at all. Not with all the scolding, cold glares, and zero emotions. Yet here he was, completely silent. He finally let a smile come to his face and chuckled.  
“Wow, Tak. That’s, uh… I didn’t think you’d care that much.”  
“Well, I care enough to not want you to kill yourself for nothing.”  
There was more silence, but rather than awkward, it felt nice for Tank. Just to have the two relax together was enough for him. But he was growing tired, and he could use some sleep before tomorrow. He was going to help with the next horde, whether the others liked it or not. Not because he wanted to prove he was useful, not because he wanted to look cool, but he wanted to make sure Takeo would be ok by the end of the day.  
Tank stood up, stretching out his stiff joints from sitting for so long in the same position.  
“Well, it’s been nice, but I think I’m going to hit the hay. Thanks for listening, Tak.”  
“No problem. I suppose I should sleep as well.” Takeo stood up as well, walking over to where the ladder was before being stopped by Tank.  
“Hey Tak?”  
“Yes?”  
“You mind if we do this more often? You know, talk on the roof under the night sky, just you and me?”  
Takeo smiled at the request, seeing Tank get a little flustered waiting for an answer.  
“Sure, I’d like to.”  
Tank’s face lighted up when he said yes. He could jump with joy if he wanted to, but he wanted to remain calm.  
“Also, thanks again.”  
“For what?”  
“For all the times you’ve saved my ass.”  
“Don’t mention it. I should be the one thanking you for saving me last time.”  
“Well, if you say so. I should earn a reward for saving you of all people.”  
“You want a reward for risking your life?”  
“Well, it’d be nice to be rewarded once in awhile.”  
Takeo chuckled before walking over to him.  
“Very well. I’ll give you a reward.”  
The next thing Tank knew, Takeo grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him down, and caught his lips in a kiss.  
This had to be too good to be true, this wasn’t real. Life was playing a cruel joke, he was dreaming right now, and he was going to wake up soon to the harsh reality that this wasn’t true. Yet, he was still here, and he was still kissing him.  
Tank slowly moved from his frozen position, and wrapped his arms around the samurai’s waist, deepening the kiss gently. He wasn’t sure if he’d let him, but he was willing to try.  
Takeo didn’t push away or stop, he just let him hold him as they kissed.  
It seemed like an eternity, like they hadn’t stopped in years, staying like this. Finally, Takeo pulled away, a smirk on his face as he looked up at Tank. His face was flushed red, as he looked like he was glowing, still surprised that this was even happening.  
Takeo merely chuckled, before speaking up again.  
“Next time you try to hide your feelings for someone, don’t cover it up with endless compliments and trying to spend time with them as much as possible.”  
With that, he slipped out of his arms, and went to the ladder, climbing down from the roof.  
Tank remained where he was, still completely baffled by what had happen. Then, he smiled widely, the biggest smile he had in forever.  
He climbed back down and returned to his room. That night, he was left awake with thoughts running in his mind. Not of his past, not of his future, not even about tomorrow, but about Takeo.  
He could not be happier to have him running through his mind. That night, Tank had fallen harder for Takeo than he ever had before.

**Author's Note:**

> Isn't it nice to have some fluff after all that? I hope you guys enjoyed thins, and if you did, I MAY write a smut fic for you lovelies if you enjoyed it! Tell me if you guys are up for that, and I'll see you guys later!


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